Pere Lachaise

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So last week, after the return from Provence, I went to visit the Pere Lachaise cemetary, which is actually very close to where I live. It was a beautiful afternoon and I went with a couple of friends from the program. The goal for me was to see the tomb of Abelard and Heloise. It almost felt like a pilgrimage to the legendary lovers. But of course I got much more than that. The cemetary itself is more like a town than a cemetary. The only thing is instead of houses you have tombs. It's quite eerie, to be honest. I kept feeling like their ought to have been doorbells on those doors openning onto the cemetary street and leading in to infinite resting places. I had to keep reminding myself that the residents here were probably not waiting for afternoon callers.
It was also quite easy to get lost with all the winding roads and hidden passages. So I was in awe when I turned a corner and found myself facing the great tomb of Abelard and Heloise. A stone-carved placard on the tomb told a very sweet version of the story, though as I remember it, the life-version included much greater struggles than were included in this version by the Dame of the Abbess.
There were roses on the tomb, thrown over the gate surrounding it. There was also a plastic bag containing what looked like a red journal. I couldn't help but be drawn in by the mystery and wonder what story that journal contained.
Then of course one can't go to Pere-Lachaise without going to Jim Morrison's grave. So we did that. Several flowers strewn there too of course. But less to look at with the tomb itself, since his parents had the bust removed (apparently it was not stolen, contrary to popular rumors) and replaced with a simple headstone.
Most disconcerting were the very old graves where the stones had fallen in or seemed to have been pushed away. Surrounded in a cemetary like that, I couldn't help but have ghost story thoughts and wonder whether it was people trying to get in or souls trying to get out.

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Photos

Abelard and Eloise
"Les restes d'Abelard et d'Heloise sont reunis dans ce tombe."

statue
Dark and haunting, but there was a mesmerizing softness to this statue, especially as it was set above so that when I looked at it, I was also inevitably looking into the trees and sky beyond

life
I loved this. Though it may have been a happy accident, it looks to me as though the mourners planted a tree above their loved one's grave and it has now broken through the stone confines of the grave to continue its growth.

truly weathered
Not a word left on this gravestone. But the style of the grave is similar to several of those in the cemetary, framed with wrought-iron reminiscent of a bed-frame.